by Scott Kolecki

Created on: February 18, 2009   Last Updated: February 22, 2009

So you want to learn to play the guitar? As a guitarist and professional guitar teacher, I can tell you that the guitar is probably one of the most enjoyable instruments anyone could choose to learn to play. The guitar is an extremely social instrument, and while learning the guitar does require a reasonable amount of patience and commitment, the process of learning the guitar can be an extremely enjoyable one.

The first step to learning the guitar is deciding that this is the instrument you want to commit your time to. While this might sound like an obvious statement, it's amazing how many people pick up the guitar without really knowing whether or not this is the instrument for them. Some people receive them as gifts, as a decent guitar can be purchased for less than a hundred dollars, and others inherit them or have them passed along as a family heirloom. Deciding to learn an instrument is an important decision as it will require you to commit many months (and likely many years) to the learning process. If you start off with the wrong instrument, you are likely to lose interest quickly in the entire process and give up before you've really given it a chance. Unfortunately, there is no easy way of absolutely determining what instrument is the right fit for any individual, but a guideline I recommend to people is to pick an instrument that reflects the type of music you most commonly listen to and enjoy. If you spend your free time listening to classical piano concertos or orchestral symphonies, you might be better suited to pick an instrument that will allow you the freedom to explore that genre through your own music. Similarly, if you are an avid fan of folk, country or rock and roll, then chances are good that the guitar is going to be a good fit as you will probably emulate some of your favorite musical styles in your own learning process. For the record, the guitar is also a great classical instrument, although the course of study involved to become a proficient classical guitarist is very time consuming, so a higher level of commitment is involved.

Once you've decided that you've made the right choice for your personal interests, the next step in the process is picking an instrument. While many aspiring rockers want to rush out and purchase an electric guitar, my recommendation is to start with an acoustic guitar for at least the first year. There are several reasons for this. First, as mentioned before, an acoustic guitar can be purchased with minimal

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